Unconquered (1947)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Charles Bennett (writer)
Fredric M. Frank (writer)

Release Date:

10 October 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Crimson-haired slave girl . . . desired by a man of destiny! Together they shared the thrills of the most daring spectacle De Mille ever filmed !

Plot:

Intrepid frontiersman Chris Holden foils the political and personal ambitions of renegade Martin Garth in the Ohio Valley following the French and Indian War.

Plot Keywords:

Ohio Valley | Fort | Chief Pontiac | Waterfall | 1760s

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Capt. Christopher Holden
Paulette Goddard	...	Abigail 'Abby' Martha Hale
Howard Da Silva	...	Martin Garth
Boris Karloff	...	Chief Guyasuta
Cecil Kellaway	...	Jeremy Love - Abby's 'guardian'
Ward Bond	...	John Fraser - blacksmith
Virginia Campbell	...	Mrs. John Fraser ('Half-Pint")
Katherine DeMille	...	Hannah - Garth's wife
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Capt. Steele - Ecuyer's deputy
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Lord Chief Justice (Old Bailey)
Victor Varconi	...	Capt. Ecuyer - Ft. Pitt commander
Virginia Grey	...	Diana - Chris's fiancee
Mike Mazurki	...	Dave Bone - Garth's henchman
Porter Hall	...	Leach - slave auctioneer
Richard Gaines	...	Col. George Washington

Runtime:

146 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Ashton, Idaho, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Capt. Holden and Abigail are escaping from the Senecas by boat they are unarmed. Without explanation both are armed one scene later.

Quotes:

Lord Chief Justice: Slavery in the colonies or the gallows here? Speak up, girl! Which is it to be?
Abigail 'Abby' Martha Hale: [Resignedly] Slavery, My Lord.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

WHIPPOORWILL'S A SINGIN'

Excellent Historical Drama by a Great Filmmaker

This extraordinary movie tells about the struggle between the settlers and the Indians circa 1760 set in what's now western Pennsylvania; but at the time was the edge of our western frontier.

Filmed on a grand scale when Hollywood was still using the original and outstanding 3-strip Technicolor that required a camera about half the size of an automobile, these films stand up strong in comparison to the high-tech cameras of 2007; in my opinion the finished product of old Technicolor is superior.

Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard and a great cast deliver solid performances throughout. A 2 hour 29 minute movie was a long one in 1947, but there's not a dull or wasted moment.

A couple of things worth additional comment: Paulette Goddard plays a runaway slave, and there are about 2 dozen slaves in the movie; every one is a White person. Besides that, the slavery is in the North. Yeegods! How many young people (or adults) today know they had White slaves, or that Northern states had slaves (even during the Civil War and AFTER!) Shut my mouth! The Thought Police will have my neck! Second, the Indians (oops, Native Americans) aren't all sweetness and light, as portrayed in recent revisionist-history movies. Herein the Indians are cruel and savage, besides being liars. They enjoy killing Whites, and do it with a maximum of cruelty, particularly with women and children. Having 30 or 40 alleged "men" torturing a tied-up White woman, a prelude to burning her alive, is not only historically more accurate than today's movies; but it's disgusting human conduct by any standard.

Even more shocking by 2007 standards is that men smoke tobacco often in Unconquered --- and not just the bad guys.

In 1947, most movies played 1 or 2 days at the Silver, with big hits playing 3 days. Unconquered played 4 days, Wednesday thru Saturday, the first picture so honored at my neighborhood theater.

Cecil B. deMille was a small man physically, but a GIANT among filmmakers. This wonderful movie --- one of his best --- is a recent DVD release.